I Open a New Chapter in the Tang Dynasty

Su Mo, a modern history graduate student, is unexpectedly reborn as the son of a Vice Minister of Personnel during the Kaiyuan Golden Age of the Tang dynasty. Armed with knowledge of history and modern learning, he assumes a false name and enters the Imperial Academy, determined to make the golden age even brighter. There he meets Shen Zhiwei, the daughter of another Vice Minister of Personnel, who shares his desire for reform and refuses to be constrained by Confucian conventions. They bond over a dispute in court and come to admire one another.

Su Mo shakes the court with his “New Learning,” promoting agricultural improvements and establishing a modern mathematics curriculum. Shen Zhiwei defies the tradition that women should not engage in business, opening an affordable pharmacy and a lending library to make medicine and knowledge accessible. Their reforms threaten the interests of the conservative faction led by Censor-in-Chief Li Song, and they are repeatedly framed. Together, they weather each crisis, moving from cautious testing to steadfast partnership.

As the reforms deepen, Su Mo foresees the An Lushan Rebellion and urges Emperor Xuanzong to strengthen the frontier defenses and reform the Fubing militia system, but faces fierce resistance. Li Song joins forces with An Lushan to lay a deadly trap. With Chang'an in peril, Su Mo and Shen Zhiwei unite loyalist forces, apply modern principles of military defense, and rally soldiers and civilians to fight back. They ultimately thwart the rebellion plot and delay the outbreak of war, buying the Tang dynasty precious time to pursue reform.

Amid the turmoil, they remain true to their conviction that knowledge should serve the world. Through reform, they protect the Kaiyuan Golden Age and become guardians of their era, remembered throughout history.